Fashion cue
Fifth Avenue undeniably entertains the fashionable masses–see and be seen. Downstairs, choose from several of the best pool tables in town or head upstairs to be entertained by local celebrity rock and blues acts.
Biker heaven
Not another bandwagon new bar, the New Way has been around forever, providing locals a place to play a game of pool or hear a great local band. Regulars comprised of bikers, drinkers and neighbors welcome new faces. Leave the pretentious airs at home.
Lucky irish charm
Fun, spirited, clean-cut Irish pub with great sing-along nights, plenty of drunken college grads, and a good bite to eat. Long table seating makes Four Green Fields a great place for an old gang reunion, but get there early for a table — the place gets packed.
Booty callin’
If their phone number ain’t functioning it’s because Club 2000, formerly of Warehouse-fame, is strictly off-the-hook. Featuring a clean but sweaty atmosphere, Club 2000 feels more like a large riverfront loft than a bar, which keeps the emphasis on the booty and hip-hop dancing.
Musical matriarch
Hamtramck rock ‘n’ roll matron Lili Karwowski opened her doors and her heart and nurtured a music scene.
Richie Hawtin
Richie Hawtin, often aka Plastikman, is a portrait of a Detroit (well, windsor, actually) renaissance artist. From his early minimalist techno recoding projects to his raved-about raves, through his brilliant work as a cross-generational beat mixologist and his all, er, consuming, record label endeavors, Hawtin’s energy is matched only by his inspiration. And, thankfully, he…
Sound memories
Metro Times’ musical aficionados try not to forget a year of fantastic moments.
Any Given Sunday
This pro-sports flick wears its tag line — “life is a contact sport” — with real, if deluded, conviction. In the world of Any Given Sunday, a person has to have the right measure of testosterone or the ball-breaker status of the Miami Sharks’ bristly young team owner, Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz), to be anything…
Apocalypse, please
1,000 reasons why we’re glad this millennium is over….
Coffee and books
Of all the coffeehouses in Ann Arbor, this one may be the most dominated by a student clientele, primely located on South University Avenue acroos from the University of Michigan’s Diag. This bright cafe is a favorite space for serious scholars to hide from distractions, its outdoor tables are popular places to socialize and there…
You can predict the future!
Well, it’s been quite a Michigan millennium, as some lesser advertising hack for some chamber of commerce may yet scribble. We exterminated the original inhabitants, stripped the Upper Peninsula of timber and ore, and elected John Engler. Not once, but three times! And now for the best part. No matter what you’ve been told, it’s…
Fantastic tavern
Old Town has been a tavern since 1867. The brick walls covered in old photos and playbills, the wood floor and tin ceiling radiate its history. The menu is reliable and there’s always a Bell’s beer on tap. Grab one of the two window tables and people-watch or, if you’re part of a big group,…
Pitch’d
Top 10 Detroit Records of circa 1999 1. Kenny Dixon Jr. — "Shades of Jae" — Moodymann Simply put, the most inspiring Detroit cut of the year. Perfect party music, with its tease and suspense, drama and funk — this is the way a DJ who knows how to work the crowd makes a record.…
Pseudo-booty
A sports bar and pseudo-booty headquarters, the River Rock caters to an older 20-something crowd, with Lions sightings and people leaving their coats on (!) while they’re inside. Now how are you supposed to hit things from the back like that?
Time, capsulated
Feeling inspired by the holiday spirits (and a bad case of the munchies) to snack on something sweet and crunchy, I make my way through the dark house to the pantry, intending to fetch the box of Millenios Cheerios I’ve been saving for just such an occasion. But when I reach around the 18 bottles…
Fantasia 2000
A spectacular fusion of sight and sound, Fantasia used classical music as the basis for imagery which radically changed how audiences perceived animated films. No longer constricted by the cutesy Disney style, the animators’ imaginations roamed free, resulting in startling compositions of free-floating color and images which effortlessly morph from realistic to fantastical. But apparently,…
Festive fun, freakly folic
GIGGLE ALL THE WAY For about a year now, Club Bart in funny Ferndale has been turning over its stage on Thursdays to the stand-up comedic talents popping up all over metro Detroit. Over the past couple of months, Comedy Night has become increasingly popular, packing the house and attracting the cream of the entertainment…
Galaxy Quest
Well, strike me pink: Galaxy Quest actually works! Who would have believed it? Surely, not the “Star Trek” fans whose overwhelming dedication to the series makes them immune to any ironic twist. But not those bent on mocking the Trekkies, either. In fact, there isn’t one category we can think of that would have expected…
Watch it unfold
If you still haven’t made plans for New Year’s, you might try spending the evening online. After all, the Web is your best source for Y2K info and maybe even a little millennial fun — before, during and after the big night. READY OR NOT: On New Year’s Eve, what if the lights really do…
The Talented Mr. Ripley
With the recurring character of Tom Ripley, author Patricia Highsmith created an amoral antihero whose actions matched the lethal precision of her prose. Starting with The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955), Tom appeared in five Highsmith novels written in a style so spartan and straightforward that it appears artless. That is until the moment readers realize…
Food Stuff
SEASONS CHEERS Sure, sure, eggnog is nice, and if you have to drink it, get the one from Northville’s own Guernsey Farms, which tops the list for creamiest, thickest and eggiest all at once. Add sufficient rum — enough to thin it to a drinkable texture — and you’re set for a caloriffic night. But…
Cruddy
Lynda Barry’s second novel opens with a tour de force of disaffection, a portrait of adolescent alienation so pronounced it might knock the wind out of you if it weren’t so funny. Sixteen-year-old Roberta Rohbeson lives with her mother and 11-year-old sister in a depressing rental house “on a cruddy street on the side of…
Polished the egghead
Being a Comedy Central neighbor to the T&A-ogling sensibilities of "The Man Show" — where the most intriguing male on the set is a drooling bulldog — and well-worn reruns of "Saturday Night Live" makes being the smartest guy on the block a pretty easy task, especially for Ben Stein. But that’s not to say…
Add it up
When looking back over the year, we couldn’t help but notice the large scale surrounding some of our most notable events in the metro region and across the state. From massive public subsidies for private developments to the thousands of people being left behind by a booming economy, the year produced some startling figures. $1…
Reading the cine-meter
Norene Cashen The Adventures of Sebastian Cole — Tod Williams American Beauty — Sam Mendes Detroit Rock City — Adam Rifkin The Green Mile — Frank Darabont My Life So Far — Hugh Hudson My Son the Fanatic — Udayan Prasad Romance — Catherine Breillat The Sixth Sense — M. Night Shyamalan Whiteboys — Marc…
Y2K this!
"Honey, I was around for Y1K." — Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C., drooling 97-year-old fascist Not that you should, like, cancel those extravagant, flying-to-New Zealand-to-be-first-across-the-line party plans or anything, but, well, um … The new millennium is already here. That’s right, you missed it. Trouble was, nobody realized it at the time. Here’s the scoop. Our…
Year in review ’99: Apocalypse wow
1999, what a year it was… in fact, it’s been quite the millennium, dontcha think? Although MT has only been here for a fraction of the past thousand years, our writers stepped up to write about all of it – but ended up mostly covering the more familiar territory of the past 12 months. Oh…
West of Main
If you’re going to Royal Oak to eat, but you want to avoid the pricey, overcrowded Main Street restaurants and the greasy spoons by the train tracks, go to Pronto. Brightly colored walls add to the lively feel here. The sandwich menu is creative and fun. There’s a bakery and a bar with music videos,…
